AI WON'T REPLACE LEADERS WHO PUT PEOPLE FIRST

Leaders must ensure technology's immense power is used to solve real human challenges

- BY RICHARD LOBO Special to Gulf News

The objective measure of innovation is not found in faster algorithms, sleeker devices, or even the most sophisticated AI models — it lies in the human impact it delivers.

The true legacy of technological progress will be written in the lives it improves, the communities it uplifts, and the futures it safeguards.

Every breakthrough carries a choice: to be an amplifier of opportunity or a multiplier of divides. Leaders today have the responsibility to ensure that the immense power of technology is channelled towards solving real human challenges, fostering fairness and inclusion, and enhancing overall well-being.

This is why the idea of 'Technology with a Purpose' must move beyond corporate rhetoric and become an uncompromising leadership imperative because in the end, innovation that leaves people behind is not progress at all.

It's easy to forget that the most transformative technologies are not those that move the fastest — but those that move people. Empathy is not a "nice-to-have" design flourish; it is the foundation that ensures technology uplifts rather than alienates.

True empathy begins with stepping into the lived realities of every stakeholder — employees, customers, communities, and even the environment. Imagine designing a workplace platform. A purely functional approach might prioritise integration and performance.